Oscar Salguero, Interspecies Library: Books as Portals to Interspecies Futures

July 1 2023, 16:00 BST/ 11:00 EDT/ 08:00 PST (4pm BST/ 11am EDT/ 8am PST)

Interspecies Library: Books as Portals to Interspecies Futures

Interspecies Library is the first archive dedicated to the study and advancement of artists’ books exploring alternative interspecies futures. Founded in 2019 by Oscar Salguero, the growing collection aspires to reflect our changing attitudes towards the non-human as well as our evolving acknowledgement of their agency, intelligence, and wisdom.

In this presentation, we will look at the history of interspecies literature and publications with special attention to those manifesting at the intersection of artistic research and the scientific imagination. Going as far back as 1665, all the way to 2023 and beyond, we will attempt to trace an alternative interspecies discourse timeline via a selection of visionary artists’ books. 

Oscar Salguero is a designer, independent curator, researcher, and archivist based in Brooklyn, NY. His design work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, including a commission for Stockholm Design Week 2020 as part of non:agency’s The Age of Entanglements. In Spring 2021, Salguero curated Interspecies Futures [IF] at Center for Book Arts, NY. The show marked the first survey of bookworks by emerging artists working at the intersection of speculative fiction and new interspecies possibilities. Since 2019, Salguero runs Interspecies Library, an archive project dedicated to the study and advancement of conceptual artists’ books exploring alternative interspecies futures.

A recording of the talk is available below